How To Stay Positive After Race Lottery Rejection
- craigbarden123
- Mar 7
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 8
Race lotteries are quite rare, and they often take place for famous races where the demand by runners to take part outstrips the number of available places. This is in contrast to most races, where runners simply have to pay an entry fee in order to secure the opportunity to participate. That said, races with lottery (or ballot) systems will often also require the runner to pay a fee to secure entry following a successful lottery result.
In practice, runners will put their name into a pool of participants (one which is larger than the number of available places) and hope that their name is selected to take part. The selection process is almost always random and conducted automatically via the use of digital lottery software.
My recent race lottery disappointment and my unenviable history of race lottery failures
In January 2025, I learnt that I was unfortunately not selected in the lottery to run UTMB’s famous CCC. This is a highly sought after 100km ultramarathon held in three countries and takes runners around a good chunk of the Ultra Mont Blanc Trail, ending in Chamonix France.
Whilst this was a disappointment for me, it got me thinking about my own history of race lottery failures over the years. To summarise these failures, they are:
1. The London Marathon – 6 times
2. Western States Endurance Run – 2 times
3. CCC by UTMB – 2 times
Lakeland 50 Miler - 1 time
This is a pretty decent list of failures, and it’s perhaps even more disappointing to state that – to date – I have never been successful in a race lottery.
That said, I can’t complain too much given that there are plenty of runners out there with much longer failure lists than me and sometimes these can be as long as someone’s arm.
Whilst it can be easy to feel disappointed, upset, and bitter at not being selected, especially when you’ve entered into race lotteries many times with no success, it’s important to stay positive and not let the result and situation define you.
So, in this article, I’ll be exploring some ways you can use to stay positive after rejection in a race lottery.
1. It’s nothing personal
Most of these lottery systems are based purely on luck, and they’re out of our control.
It’s not like the race organisers have gone through each and every perspective entrant’s training log, assessed their personalities, their principles, past performances, or dedication to running.
More often than not, it’s based simply on luck and there’s not much we can do in order to increase our chances.
Whilst there are a few scenarios where you can improve your chances, it’s important to remember that success is often not guaranteed.
In an ideal world, it would be good if we could add a written statement for a race lottery entry similar to in a job interview where one can sell themselves in order to hopefully tip the scales closer towards lottery success.
Personally, I’ve seen this only used in a handful of extreme ultra-marathon races (such as the Centurion Winter Downs 200 mile race) where the organisers need confidence in the runner’s past performance, training, experience and skills, before selection. However, due to the vast volume of entrants to most lottery systems, this simply isn’t practicable and it’s based mainly on luck.
2. Focus on what you can control in your running
Like many things in our lives, success in a race lottery is out of our control so it’s important to instead focus on what we can control.
These are things like:
1. Throwing yourself into club runs and activities with a local running club.
2. Exploring new road or trail routes,
3. Taking on new exciting running challenges.
4. Researching and improving your nutrition.
5. Inviting a friend or loved one for a run or two.
6. Trying a new type of terrain (if you’re a trail runner, try the road and vice versa).
This is important because when we feel a sense of not being in control it can lead to feelings of helplessness and disempowerment which won’t do mental or physical health any good.
3. There’s plenty of other races out there that you CAN run
It’s important to remember that, with these lottery systems, they are not the only races that exist in the world.
I guarantee you that, regardless of the distance for which ever race lottery you weren’t successful in, there are literally thousands that exist without a lottery system and which you can enter simply by paying an entry fee.
This is great because it still gives runners who want to get involved with a race the opportunity to do so, despite not being successful in a race lottery.
Some of the benefits of entering other races, which don’t have lottery systems in place, include:
- The chance to discover races which, for many runners, are unexplored.
- The chance to engage with smaller races which often have tight knit running communities.
- The opportunity to maintain motivation, even if you feel aggrieved at failure in a race lottery.
I am someone who has done massive races like the Paris Marathon and the Brighton Marathon, and I’m someone who has done smaller races like the Centurion North Downs Way 100 and Race to the Stones 100km, and I have had better experiences doing the smaller races than the big commercial ones.
If you’re not successful, keep your head held high and explore what others options are available to you. You might just discover something you didn’t know you would really enjoy in the process!
4. Run on some of the lottery race course or all of it anyway
Despite not having been successful in a race lottery for a race you wanted to run so badly, remember that you are still free to run on some or all of that race course regardless.
For example, you could find the race course online via the race website and download it before loading the selection you want to run into your watch (or phone) and run it anyway.
If I’m honest, this one is probably best suited to trail lottery races like UTMB or CCC because these tend to be race courses which are less busy and urban unlike the hustle and bustle associated with everyday life of the big city marathons.
That said, there’s nothing stopping you from doing chunks of the London marathon or the Chicago marathon (as examples) but please make sure you prioritise safety and be vigilant of civilians, traffic, and any other hazards which are not a problem for race day runners of these big city events.
5. Remember that there’s always next year
9 times out of 10, there will always be another opportunity to re-enter the race lottery in the next event.
Assuming that the race continues to exist in the future, and it’s not cancelled for whatever reason, there will be another chance to enter the lottery again.
It’s not done and dusted forever!
6. Improve your chances via Good for Age
Some races, often big city marathons, have what is called a ‘good for age’ entry system.
This is a separate system to the standard lottery process whereby runners who have demonstrated that they are capable of running the given race distance in what is called a good for age time, can increase their chances for selection.
Often, the race in question will have a category list of good for age times separated by the runner’s age and gender. If you can evidence that you have run that particular race distance previously below the threshold time for the race you want to participate in, you may have a greater chance.
However, I must caveat this with the fact that this entirely depends on the times of other runners entering via the good for age process in your given category.
For example, I entered the London Marathon in 2024 via the good for age system as my Southampton Marathon time in 2023 of 2 hours and 58 minutes was below the 3 hour threshold for male runners in my age group. Despite this, I was still not selected and this is because there were simply too many other runners in my age and gender group who had run marathons much faster than me.
If you’re a faster runner, and you want to increase your chances of selection, make it a priority to get the fastest good for age time and you may stand a chance at selection.
7. Improve your chances via charity places
More often than not, the big lottery races are supported by hundreds of famous charities for various causes. This is with the aim of raising awareness of their charitable aims and raising funds to support their work.
Personally, I have always supported two charities in my running efforts where I've decided to represent a charity and these are:
These charities typically have an allocation of places which runners can use to enter the race with the caveat that this is with the aim of raising awareness and funds for that given charity.
With this option, it’s important to remember that you will almost always need to pledge to raising a minimum amount of money as part of your commitment to the charity and this is always made clear at the point of entry. So, if you want to enter via a charity place, make sure that:
- You’re prepared to raise the required funds.
- You’re prepared to raise awareness for the charity.
Also, it’s a good thing (in my opinion) to physically run the race in running gear on the day which represents that charity whether it’s a hat, headband, or shirt.
8. Improve your chances for the UTMB finals week by acquiring more running stones
In the ultra running world, there is no more famous set of races than the UTMB finals week. This is a collection of races which are held in France, organised by UTMB, and the big names (OCC 50km, CCC 100km, UTMB 100 miler), require two things:
- The runner has acquired more of what they call ‘running stones’
- The runner has completed a similar race within a given time window in the past to demonstrate capability of finishing (and also for safety reasons).
When one enters these lottery races, the chances of success are improved depending on the number of running stones you have. Another way to put this is like the number of tickets an individual buys for a standard lottery with the hope of winning a cash prize. The more entries, the more chances of success.
To acquire more running stones, you need to enter and complete other races in the UTMB race circuit which are held all over the world. Personally, I’ve got 5 running stones at present from:
- Mozart 100km in Austria: 3 running stones
- Ultra trail Snowdonia 50km in Wales: 2 running stones
I’ve entered CCC twice with this amount of running stones and I have not been successful so, based on this, I likely need to acquire more if I’m to stand a chance.
The running stone system by UTMB has become somewhat controversial in recent years, with some saying that it’s nothing more than a means of UTMB seeking to commercialise the ultra-running sport and to increase their revenue. On the other hand, you could say it’s a good incentive for ultra runners to broaden their ultra horizons and enter into races in countries and regions they otherwise wouldn’t as a sense of perspective broadening and enrichment.
Whatever your opinion on UTMB in general, and their running stone system, one thing is clear. To stand more of a chance at success, you need more running stones.
Elite athletes who complete other UTMB races throughout the year and finish within the top 3 of the field are often guaranteed a spot to participate in the UTMB race of that particular distance so the lottery won’t apply to them. It certainly pays off to be an elite runner if you want to run a UTMB finals week race!
Final thoughts and my reflections on these race lottery systems
There you have it. Just a few ways that you can use in order to stay positive after race lottery rejection. I hope you found it useful and if you have any other ways to stay positive, please let me know in the comments.
My preferred lottery system to make it fairer
On a side note, I’d like to mention that personally I have a bit of a problem with the majority of the big city marathon race lottery systems. Year on year, the same runner will have the same chance at success as they did the year before. This, in my opinion, isn’t fair and it should be changed to a system whereby for every year that you are not successful then your chances are doubled in the subsequent year.
For example:
Year 1 – One ticket
Year 2 – Two tickets
Year 3 – Four tickets
Year 4 – Eight tickets
Particularly when, in theory, someone could enter the race and be successful five times in a row whereas someone else could have entered the same number of times and not been successful once.
Personally, I agree with the above system and this is the one which the Western States Endurance Run currently use. I think it reduces the frustration of runners who are consecutively unsuccessful because at least they are reassured that, next year, their chances will be doubled.
Let me know what you think about the lottery systems. Do you agree, disagree? Do you have any other ideas? Please share and let me know in the comments down below.
Thanks very much for reading. I’ve been Craig, this is Running Cafe, and I wish you the very best in your running.
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